Yeast and Quick Bread Basics

This week I am walking you through some basics. I thought since I am the baker of our duo that I should share some yeast tips for baking.  These come from WebMD, they are a lot more thorough than I could ever give you!

Yeast Bread Basics

Most bakery products are made with yeast, baking powder, or baking soda. If you're following a recipe that calls for yeast, here's what you should know:

• Yeast feeds on sugars and starches in the dough. When it grows, it produces carbon dioxide, which makes your dough rise with air bubbles.
• Too much heat, sugar, or salt can kill the yeast, so follow recipe instructions carefully.
• For yeast to grow, it needs a warm (but not hot) environment. This is why recipes often call for warm milk or water.
• Yeast bread recipes usually call for some sugar, to feed the yeast, and salt, for taste and to help control the yeast's growth.
• Bread-machine yeast and rapid-rise yeast are specially formulated for the bread machine. They become active more quickly and can be mixed in with other dry ingredients.
• When using a bread machine, be sure to add the ingredients in the order recommended by the manufacturer or in the recipe.
• In a bread machine, the mixing and rising take place inside the machine. The baking can also be done in the machine. Or, you can press the "dough" cycle and when the first rise is over, the machine will stop. You can then take the dough out, put it in a pan, let rise, and bake in the

  Quick Bread Basics

  Quick breads are breads, such as muffins and biscuits, that are quick to make because they don't involve kneading or any rising time. Usually, baking powder or baking soda is added to the dry ingredients to create bubbles in the batter or dough as it bakes.

  Here's how they work:

  • Baking soda is combined with an acid -- like cream of tartar, buttermilk, yogurt, or vinegar -- in the batter. Bubbles are produced from the carbon dioxide gas that results, allowing the dough or batter to rise as it bakes. Baking soda reacts immediately when moistened, so it's usually mixed with the dry ingredients before liquid ingredients are added.
  • Baking powder contains the acid (cream of tartar) and the baking soda together. Once moistened, they react to produce the bubbles of gas oven.